Pruning Roses

  

GENERAL RULES

 

There are some golden rules of pruning that apply to all roses.

 

Always use good quality, sharp secateurs.

Ensure that all cuts are made above a node, on an angle, away from the bud.

Cuts should be clean.

Remove dead, damaged and diseased wood.

Remove wood, which has rubbed against other branches, and become damaged.

Try to keep the centre of the plant open.

 

 

 

 

PRUNING NEW ROSES AFTER PLANTING

 

Whatever the type of rose it should be pruned hard when it is first planted.  This prevents them from becoming leggy and ungainly plants later in their life.

We recommend that shrub, climbing, rambling and procumbent roses are reduced to about four buds on each stem and modern roses to three.

 

PRUNING MODERN BUSH ROSES, HYBRID TEAS AND FLORIBUNDAS

 

All modern bush roses produce their flowers on current season’s growth.

Pruning should be done in February / March.

Prune all stems down to 5 – 7 buds from the base of the plant.

Remove all weak, damaged and diseased wood.

 

PRUNING ONCE FLOWERING SHRUB ROSES

 

In many cases it is not necessary to prune summer flowering shrub roses.  They will make attractive plants without much attention.

The only requirements may be to remove any dead, diseased or chaffed branches.

Since they flower on wood produced in the previous season, if pruning is required, it is best carried out after flowering.  This gives the plant time to build up more growth for next season’s flowers but remember, if you prune the varieties which produce hips in the autumn, they will not produce hips if they are pruned.

 

PRUNING REPEAT FLOWERING SHRUB ROSES

 

On these types flowering occurs on current season’s growth.

Pruning is best carried out in February / March

Remove growth that is overcrowded.

Reduce some of the younger stems by a third, others can be cut back further.

A light pruning can be done when deadheading in the summer.

Rugosa roses should only be ‘tidied up’.

 

PRUNING PROCUMBENT ROSES

 

Probably most of the pruning will be confined to removing tangled growth and tidying.

Different cultivars have different growth habits.  If the plant produces long arching branches, they can be pegged down if necessary.

 

PRUNING CLIMBING AND RAMBLING ROSES

 

These can be divided in two groups. Group One: Cultivars that flower on current wood, such as the Noisettes, Climbing Teas, Hybrid Perpetuals and most Modern Climbers and Group Two: those which flower on the previous seasons growth such as Ramblers and Scramblers.

 

GROUP ONE

 

Pruning goes hand in hand with training.  Stems should be tied out in different directions to encourage new flowering growth.  A lateral stem will produce more flowering shoots along its length if it is trained as near to horizontal as possible.

As the plant becomes older a pattern of pruning can be developed.  By leaving some stems long and reducing others by about a third. The aim is to keep the plant as full of younger wood as possible.

 

GROUP TWO

 

Ramblers will often produce long, flexible branches from ground level.

THESE ARE NOT SUCKERS and will produce next years flowers.

Prune the older wood and leave as many young shoots as possible.

Pruning should be done in summer immediately after flowering.

Some Ramblers require only occasional pruning and are often better left to their own devices.